Handle-Navigable Rolling Wheel Toy

ABSTRACT

A manually-driven hand-navigable wheel toy comprising a handle with a fork portion comprises at least two prongs that rests on a wheel and which enables and guides the wheel&#39;s motion during the operation. The at least two prongs straddle the wheel rim with the fork portion being in contact with the outer portion of the wheel rim during operation. The wheel is set in motion via, for example, a forward push of the wheel through the handle and is kept steadily moving toward a desired direction by steering the wheel with the aid of the at least two prongs of the fork portion of the handle. The wheel toy further comprises lights such as blinking LED lights located along various sections of the toy.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is based on, and claims the benefits of priorityof U.S. application Ser. No. 62/016,762, filed on Jun. 25, 2014, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the invention

This invention relates to a handle-navigable rolling wheel toy.

2. Background Art

U.S. Pat. No. 2,253,030 discloses a toy comprising a wheel pushable witha handle on which various toys can be attached and wherein the handle isconnected to the wheel's hub.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,791 discloses a single-wheel push or pull toycomprising a hollow cylinder, two circular discs mounted-on either endof hollow cylinder, wherein the handle for pushing or pulling isconnected to the smaller cylinder positioned off-center within thelarger cylinder.

“Having Fun the Traditional Way” reference shows two images in which oneand two boys, respectively, are shown with a traditional toy in which awheel (which does not appear to have any spokes) is pushed using astick. The images do not clearly show how the stick is connected to thewheel, but the image that shows two boys pushing his own push-wheel toyseems to suggest a stick having a hook-like design to keep the wheel inmotion.

Other push-wheel type toys have also been previously disclosed, but theycomprise a wheel hub to which the handle is directly connected. Forexample, the reference entitled “Plastic Pushing Wheel” referencediscloses a toy consisting of a single wheel in which the handle forpushing the wheel, which is shown as having 3 spokes, is connected tothe wheel's hub.

Another reference entitled “Rare Vintage Hand Push One Wheel Cultivator”discloses not a toy, but a farm implement, in which the handle is alsoattached to the wheel's hub, wherein the wheel has multiple spokes. Theportion of the handle that connects to the hub also connects on theother end to a Y-shaped metal bar, with two ends connected to the woodenhandle, and the other hand being connected directly to the cultivator.

The reference entitled “Having Fun the Traditional Way” shows two imagesin which one and two boys, respectively, are shown with a traditionaltoy in which a wheel, which does not appear to have any spokes, ispushed using a stick. The images do not clearly show how the stick isconnected to the wheel, but the image that shows two boys pushing theirown push-wheel toy seems to suggest a stick having a hook-like design tokeep the wheel in motion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a manually-driven hand-navigable wheeltoy comprising a handle with a fork portion comprising at least twoprongs that rests on a wheel which enables and guides the wheel's motionduring the operation. The at least two prongs straddle the wheel rimwith the fork portion being in contact with the outer portion of thewheel rim during operation. The wheel is set in motion via, for example,a forward push of the wheel through the handle and is kept steadilymoving towards a desired direction by steering the wheel with the aid ofthe at least two prongs of the fork portion of the handle. The wheel toymay further comprise a transparent hollow tubular wheel that may containmulti-colored objects such as plastic balls or may further compriselights such as blinking LED lights located along various sections of thetoy.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention that comprisesa transparent tubular wheel comprising multi-colored objects.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention that comprises asolid semiflat wheel with lights.

FIG. 3A illustrates another embodiment of the present inventioncomprising two wheels connected to a single handle.

FIG. 3B shows the handle portion of the two-wheel embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3C shows the fork portion of the handle shown in FIG. 3B.

FIG. 4A-4F illustrates the various embodiments of the handle of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5A illustrates an embodiment of the fork portion without aclip-lock.

FIG. 5B-5E shows the fork portion of the present invention viewed fromdifferent perspectives.

FIG. 6A-6D illustrates the various embodiments of the wheel of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 describes an embodiment of the present inventioncomprising a system for monitoring and controlling climate and moisturein a beehive. An assembly of top section where ventilation fans arelocated according to the embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 1.

The present invention will now be described with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to likeelements.

FIG. 1 shows hand-driven rolling toy comprising at least one wheel 114;a handle 110 for pushing or pulling the wheel; and a fork portion 112 incontact with the wheel for enabling and guiding the wheel's motion,wherein the fork portion comprises at least two prongs, the two prongsare on opposite sides of a wheel rim, the fork portion of the handlerests on the outer surface of the wheel during operation, the two prongsare separated by a length preferably only slightly wider than thewheel's rim to enable wheel motion with minimal wheel wobbling, and theforks allows the wheel to be navigated in any direction preferably witha slight twisting hand motion, and wherein the wheel's motion can bereduced or stopped by a twisting hand motion or by pressing one of theforks downwards against the wheel rim.

In the embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 1, the wheelcomprises transparent cylindrical tube with a hollow inner portion thatcan accommodate small objects such as one or more multi-colored balls116 that can roll inside the wheel during operation. The one or moremulti-colored balls preferably generate light or sound when the wheelmoves. Other types of objects may be placed inside the wheel. Forexample, the wheel may contain a brightly-colored liquid such as aliquid with a neon green or fluorescent orange dye. The brightly-coloredliquid may also contain multi-colored objects such as multicoloredplastic balls. Other items, such as, glitters of various colors may alsobe added to make the wheel more attractive to children.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention that comprises asolid semiflat wheel 214 with lights 216. In one exemplary embodiment,the toy comprises one or more lights along the handle or in the innerportion of the wheel. The one or more lights may comprise light emittingdiodes and wherein the one or more lights may comprise multicoloredblinking lights. For example, the wheel may comprise any number ofdifferent battery-powered LED lamps with different colors that blinkwhile the wheel rotates. Thus, in one embodiment of the presentinvention, the individual lamps are installed adjacent each other toform a continuous ring of light that may be of the same color, but mostpreferably of different colors. In another embodiment of the invention,the inner portion of the wheel comprises a single continuous strip ofLED light array. Commercially available batteries, such as lithiumbatteries, are preferably used to power the lights. In a most preferredembodiment of the invention, the handle comprises a switch that allowsthe toy user to turn on or off all, or at least some, of the lights.

In another preferred embodiment, the lights are motion-activated so thatthe wheel's rotation activates the blinking of the lights. In anotherembodiment, the individual lamps may have their own separate switch forturning on and off. The lights may be attached to the wheel toy usingvarious methods including using a double-sided tape, adhesives, screws,etc. In still another embodiment, the wheel may also include otherimplements such as bells and other music- or sound-playing implementsthat are activated via either a switch or some other mechanisms such asa motion sensing switch. Thus, in one preferred embodiment, the wheel'smotion is accompanied by both lights and sounds.

FIG. 3A illustrates still another embodiment of the invention in whichthe toy comprises two wheels 316 that are connected by a bar 312 thatconnect each fork portion of the separate wheels. In this embodiment,the handle is connected to the center of the bar that connects the twowheels. As in the single-wheel embodiment of the present invention, thepresent invention's two-wheel toy's motion can be preferably controlledvia the toy user's hand-twisting motion towards a desired direction.

FIG. 3B shows the handle portion of the two-wheel embodiment of thepresent invention, while FIG. 3C shows the fork portion of the handleshown in FIG. 3B.

FIGS. 4A-4F illustrates the various embodiments of the handlecorresponding to a single-wheel embodiment of the present invention. Ina most preferred embodiment of the invention, the toy's handle iscurved, such as the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A and 4B although it isalso possible for the handle to be substantially straight such as theone shown at the bottom portion of FIG. 4E-4F. The end of the handlethat the toy user uses to grasp the toy's handle with a hand to controlthe wheel can be of any shape that is preferably ergonomically-designedto allow for comfortable control of the wheel. For example, the end ofthe handle that the user grasps during the toy operation may be made offoam, rubber, polymer or plastic such as polypropylene, or somecombination of materials. The handle itself is preferably made ofpolymer typically used in plastic toys, but other types of materialssuch as wood, aluminum, or fiberglass, for example, may also be used,

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the wheel is navigated viathe at least two prongs of the fork portion of the handle, FIG. 5Aillustrates an embodiment of fork portion without a clip-lock.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3A the two prongs preferably straddle thewheel rim and allow the wheel to be controlled by a twisting motion ofthe hand during operation of the toy. The preferred separation betweenthe two prongs is such that the prongs can easily control the wheelmotion using the handle. In the most preferred embodiment, the twoprongs are separated by a distance that is sufficiently wide to allow asmooth, unimpeded motion of the wheel, but which is also sufficientlynarrow to maintain wheel stability during motion.

In another embodiment of the invention, the two prongs' ends areconnected via, for example, a detachable snap-on connector or aclip-lock to prevent separation of the wheel from the handle duringoperation. FIGS. 5B-5E show the fork portion 510 with a clip-lock viewedfrom different perspectives. A clip-lock or snap on connector 512 may bemade, for example, of a small piece of plastic such as a plastic rodwith spherical bulbous ends that can be pushed into a portion of thefork that allows that clip-lock to snap in place and prevent theseparation of the wheel from the handle during use.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the horizontalprong-connecting portion of the fork portion that connects the prongshas a length that can be adjusted and set in a selected fixed positionto accommodate different wheel diameters. The wheel of the presentinvention comprises any substantially round object.,

In one embodiment of the invention, the wheel has an essentially flatprofile along its cross section. Alternatively, the wheel may besemi-circular or cylindrical. In another embodiment, the wheel maycomprise a depression in the middle portion of the wheel'scross-section. FIG. 6A-6D illustrates various embodiments of the wheelof the present invention comprising different light configurations,wherein the lights, such as LED lamps, are attached to the inner side ofthe wheel.

Both the wheel and handle may be made of various types of materials,preferably plastic, but other types of materials such as fiberglass,wood, acrylic, metal such as aluminum, etc. may also be used. Both thewheel and handle may be hollow or solid, or either one may be hollow orsolid. For example, the wheel may be made of either a hollow or a solidpolymer commonly used in plastic toys. In all embodiments of the presentinvention, the wheel and handle must be sufficiently rigid to preventdeformation of the wheel and handle during use.

The wheel preferably has dimensions of 16″ and 24″ for the wheel andhandle, respectively. In another preferred embodiment, the toy has adimension of 16″ and 20″ for the wheel and handle, respectively. In ahighly-preferred embodiment of the invention, the wheel preferably has athickness of about ¼″ and 2″ width. But other combination of dimensionsmay be also used.

Other embodiments of the present invention may be devised by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

Having illustrated and described the principles of the present inventionin a preferred embodiment, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that the embodiment can be modified in arrangement and detailwithout departing from such principles. Any and all such embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hand-driven rolling toy, comprising: (a) atleast one wheel; (h) a handle portion for pushing or pulling the wheel;and (e) a fork portion in contact with the wheel for enabling andguiding the wheels motion, wherein the fork portion comprises at leasttwo prongs, the two prongs are on opposite sides of a wheel rim, thefork portion of the handle rests on the outer surface of the wheelduring operation, the two prongs are separated by a length only slightlywider than the wheel's rim to enable wheel motion with minimal wheelwobbling, and the forks allows the wheel to be navigated in anydirection with a slight twisting hand motion, and wherein the wheel'smotion can be reduced or stopped by a twisting hand motion or bypressing one of the forks downwards against the wheel rim.
 2. The toy ofclaim 1, wherein the wheel is a transparent hollow tubular wheelcomprising multi-colored plastic objects that roll within the wheelduring operation of the toy.
 3. The toy of claim 2, wherein one or moreof the multi-colored objects emit light and/or sound during the wheel'smotion.
 4. The toy of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of lightsources.
 5. The toy of claim 4, wherein the light sources furthercomprising a plurality of light emitting diodes.
 6. The toy of claim 4,wherein the light sources further comprising a plurality of multicoloredblinking lights.
 7. The toy of claim 1 further comprising at least onestrip of light emitting diode array.
 8. The toy of claim 1, wherein thehandle is curved.
 9. The toy of claim 1, wherein the wheel's rim isessentially flat.
 10. The toy of claim 1, wherein the wheel's rimfurther comprising a depression in the middle portion of the wheel'srim.
 11. The toy of claim 1, wherein the wheel's further comprising asemi-circular and/or cylindrical cross-section.
 12. The toy of claim 1,wherein the two prongs' ends can be connected via a detachable snap-onconnector or clip-lock to prevent separation of the wheel from thehandle during operation.
 13. The toy of claim 1, wherein a connectingportion that connects the prongs has a length that can be adjusted andset in a fixed position to accommodate different wheel rim diameters.14. The toy of claim 1, wherein the handle's length is manuallyadjustable.
 15. The toy of claim 1, wherein the toy further comprisingtwo wheels.
 16. The toy of claim 15, wherein the two wheels areconnected by a bar and the toy handle is connected to the middle portionof the bar.
 17. The toy of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of thetoy is made of polymer.
 18. The toy of claim 1, wherein the wheelfurther comprising a cylindrical tube.
 19. The toy of claim 2, whereinthe cylindrical tube contains one or more multicolored balls that rollinside the wheel during operation.
 20. The toy of claim 19, wherein theone or more multi-colored balls generate light or sound when the wheelmoves.